Golden Kennedy, CEO/Partner
Golden Kennedy, now Partner–CEO of Golden Heart Sun City, joins her husband Phil to open the new Golden Heart Senior Care (GHSC) franchise. With over thirty years spent working in elder care, Golden’s commitment started long before her professional career. At only four years old, she regularly visited senior residents in her hometown, listening to their stories and wisdom—a formative experience that still shapes her approach today.
As a point of history, Golden served as Partner-CEO at a local GHSC franchise from 2011-2022, where she established high-quality systems and introduced several innovative programs. In 2014, she additionally assumed the position of national Senior Vice President of Operations for Golden Heart Senior Care, Inc., a role she continues to serve in today.
After a surprisingly brief “retirement” to Phil’s hometown in Australia, the Kennedy’s have returned to their calling and are excited to be back in Arizona. Together, they have opened a new Golden Heart Senior Care franchise, Golden Heart Sun City, and look forward to serving seniors in the west valley communities!
Golden has executive experience in elder care in both the U.S. and Australia, specializing in accountable, client-centered care systems that prioritize quality of life. Key career highlights preparing her for Golden Heart include:
• Oversaw three Assisted Living Facilities (ALFs): one located in the United States and two based in Australia.
• Piloted six community care programs serving 5,000+ seniors & people with disability.
• Guided two ALFs and six Community Care Programs to meet Australian Aged Care Reform accreditation standards, converting all programs to Aging-in-Place.
• Facilitated the development of an accredited Level IV Caregiver Certification program (Licensed Nursing Assistant equivalent).
• Taught eldercare in China and Japan, as a guest of various prefecture governments.
• Served on the Board of Arizona In-Home Care Assn (AZNHA) (2012-2015). As the Legislative Subcommittee Chair in 2015, she played a key role in drafting Arizona’s first Home Care Disclosure legislation for non-medical home care.
Leading by example, Golden works tirelessly to ensure our clients receive excellent care that encourages their self-determination and safeguards their dignity. Her mantra to our Caregivers…
“Put our clients first, and you will be first with us!”
Phil Kennedy, CFO/Partner
Phil Kennedy joins Golden Heart Sun City as Partner – CFO and Director of Business Development. With over 30 years in executive roles and international business development, he excels at motivating teams and driving company growth. He also brings strong experience in managing turnarounds and high-growth ventures.
As a visionary and strategic leader, Phil spent 24 years advancing aged care in Queensland, Australia at Churches of Christ Care (CARE), one of Australia’s largest non-profit health and welfare groups. He served as Regional Director of the Aged Care Division, then as State Director for Community Businesses. His leadership resulted in several key achievements, e.g., he:
· Led in the development of 17 residential and community health & welfare programs for aged and disabled residents living on the Gold Coast; and helped recruit and mentor numerous other senior leaders across Queensland.
· Initiated and directed the inaugural Aged Care Exchange program between the USA and Australia, resulting in a highly successful collaboration.
· Managed 15 residential aged care building projects. · Expanded CARE programs from 100 to 6000 senior care recipients on the Gold Coast.
· Generated annual Aged Care revenues exceeding $12 million and expanded debt-free residential care assets from $3 million to $28 million.
· Founded and expanded CARE’s Community Businesses Division, consisting of profitable enterprises that generated surplus funds used to bolster CARE’s aged care and welfare initiatives. These projects included purchasing and reviving two large international tourist attractions from bankruptcy, resulting in a dramatic increase in annual visitors from just 100 to more than 100,000 worldwide guests.
· Founded AACE (Australia Aged Care Export), an international health and welfare education exchange.
· Throughout his tenure, Phil consulted and assisted Care in multiple successful program turnarounds throughout the state, to include aged care, child care and community welfare projects.
Passionate about serving others, Phil has been a director on various Boards in church, education, welfare, community service, and tourism, both locally and internationally.
He leads with conviction, serves with humility, and empowers others to succeed.
Angie Kurtz, Regional COO
Angie has served on the senior leadership team of Golden Heart in the west valley for the past seven years, and currently leads as our Regional Chief Operations Officer. In August of 2018, Angie expanded our team’s region when she became the Franchise Owner of Golden Heart – Peoria.
She is devoted to those in need…
In Angie’s early professions she served in Social Work and Special Education. After obtaining her M.A.-Ed (Counseling) she became a High School Counselor for 25 years. Angie’s focus was profoundly changed when her mother was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s. After nearly a decade of struggling, her mother passed away in 2010. During these years, Angie and her family felt helpless and hopeless due to the lack of resources and support available to Alzheimer’s patients and their families. Angie (and her family) persevered and cared for her beloved mother to the end. She wanted to translate the grief of that helpless and hopeless experience into making a difference for other frail aged people and their loved ones. Through her family’s devastating events, Angie gained the empowerment to use all the years of experience in her previous career, plus her new personal understanding, and captured a vision of how she wanted to spend the rest of her life – Thus she arrived at Golden Heart’s door! In an overwhelming interview experience she discovered her vision matched the vision of Golden Heart. She rolled up her sleeves and began working from the ground up.
Angie is passionate about making a difference for Clients and their families. She demonstrates this passion through offering leadership, education and counseling support, and most of all through her heart-felt care and concern. Daily, Angie intertwines laughter through the pain, breathes hope into the spirit, and offers peace to the mind.
I recommend Golden Heart to anyone who needs assistance with a living environment either for themselves or their loved ones. They took the time to do an in-depth interview with my wife and I along with my Dad who was in need of 24/7 care. He remained extremely lucid so he was able to express his desires during the interview, some of which were well outside what would normally be expected. Golden Heart was able to assign people very well suited to Dad’s needs, his personality, and his demeanor. They furnished the best of care, on short notice, through the end of my Dad’s life.